The Africa ICT Alliance (AfICTA) has issued a strong call to action for scalable, inclusive, and industry-aligned capacity-building initiatives to accelerate Africa’s digital transformation. Speaking during the WSIS+20 High-Level Stakeholder Consultation held on Tuesday, 29 July 2025, with diplomats and development stakeholders, Kayode Oyeyemi, Senior Programme Officer of AfICTA, emphasized that Africa’s young and dynamic population can be a global digital powerhouse if the right investments in skills and infrastructure are made.

Citing the World Bank’s 2023 report, Kayode noted that 230 million jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030. Yet fewer than 10% of African youth receive formal ICT training, compared to over 50% in Europe. He called for public-private partnerships to deliver large-scale training programs targeting youth and women (an example of an initiative mentioned was the “She Code” that transforms thousands of women’s lives in Nigeria), without sidelining underserved communities.

“Capacity building must prioritize localized digital content, language inclusivity, and industry-relevant skills in emerging technologies,” Kayode said. “We need to ensure Africa’s talent is globally competitive while meeting the needs of our local economies.”

In line with the vision of AfICTA, focus was also shifted to the importance of equipping Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the backbone of Africa’s economy, with the digital skills to thrive in e-commerce, digital finance, and online markets. According to the International Finance Corporation (2022), 40 million of Africa’s 100 million MSMEs lack access to digital tools, limiting their market reach.

With Africa’s 1.5 billion people and over 300 million jobs tied to MSMEs, AfICTA urged stakeholders to envision the transformative impact of full digital integration across these enterprises. AfICTA’s recommendations include:

1. Establishing regional centers of excellence for ICT skills development.
2. Embedding annual WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) reviews into national digital strategies to track progress on capacity building and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
3. Strengthening partnerships between Africa’s private sector and global development partners.
4. Adopting measurable frameworks for monitoring skills development progress.

“The future of Africa’s digital economy depends on bold action today". Together, we can build Africa’s digital future and empower our people for meaningful participation in the global digital economy.

About AfICTA
The Africa ICT Alliance (AfICTA) is a private sector-led alliance of ICT associations, multi-national corporations, companies, organizations, and individuals in the ICT sector across Africa. AfICTA’s vision is to fulfill the promise of the digital age for everyone in Africa.

The Africa ICT Alliance (AfICTA) is pleased to announce the release of the report from its SIDI Partnership Workshop session titled “Sovereignty and Interoperable Digital Identity in Developing and Least Developed Countries (DLDCs)”, held on Wednesday, 25th June 2025 during the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2025 in Lillestrøm, Norway under the overarching theme "Building Digital Governance Together".

The session brought together experts, policymakers, private sector leaders, and civil society representatives to address the critical importance of digital identity in supporting national sovereignty and advancing inclusive digital transformation. Discussions focused on strategies to develop interoperable digital identity frameworks that safeguard data sovereignty while enabling seamless cross-border collaboration and services.

Participants highlighted the urgent need for capacity building, regulatory harmonization, and public-private partnerships to ensure secure, inclusive, and sustainable digital identity ecosystems in DLDCs. The dialogue also underscored the role of interoperable digital identity in fostering trust, facilitating e-governance, and driving socio-economic growth across the continent.

AfICTA is proud to announce that the full session report is now available, offering detailed insights, recommendations, and key action points from the workshop. For the report, check the report tab of the following link. https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/igf-2025-ws-290-sovereignty-and-interoperable-digital-identity-in-dldcs

For a quick recap, watch the video here https://youtu.be/k7lFZ0BQYaQ 

About AfICTA
AfICTA is a private sector-led alliance of ICT Associations, Multi-national Corporations, Companies, Organizations, and individuals in the ICT sector across Africa. Its mission is to encourage and facilitate ICT-enabled businesses and initiatives to contribute to Africa’s socio-economic development.

The Africa ICT Alliance (AfICTA) hosted a high-level session at the WSIS+20 High-Level Event held in Geneva on Thursday, July 10, 2025. The session titled “Africa ICT Future: The Role of Multi-Stakeholder Engagement Beyond WSIS+20” emphasized collaboration as key to accelerating Africa’s digital transformation.

Moderated by Dr. Jimson Olufuye, the CEO, Kontemporary Konsulting, Founder/fmr Chair, and Chair of the Advisory Council, AfICTA, the session featured diverse voices from government, private sector, academia, civil society, and the technical community, including leaders from UNECA, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Cyber Security Authority of Ghana, GirlHype, SheCode.ai, and Secure Identity Alliance.

At the high-level event, the discussions highlighted Africa’s urgent need to address its low internet penetration (39%), weak cybersecurity maturity (29.1%), and a <1% share of global data centers, despite representing 19% of the global population. Panelists underscored multi-stakeholder collaboration, youth and women's inclusion, and innovation-led growth as essential for shaping a secure and inclusive digital future.

Key outcomes included:

Call for national multi-stakeholder ICT councils to co-create and implement digital strategies.
Development of digital talent pipelines focusing on AI, cybersecurity, and data science.
Increased funding for youth and women-led innovation.
Adoption of secure, interoperable digital identity systems
Strengthened research, infrastructure, and participation in global standardization bodies.

AfICTA reaffirmed its commitment to advancing digital inclusion and innovation across its 43-member countries, aligning with WSIS+20 goals and Africa’s Agenda 2063.

Session Reports (with action points and recommendations) are now available on the ITU page https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2025/Agenda/SessionOutcomes

For a quick recap, watch the session video here https://shorturl.at/y9PeF

Join us for the AfICTA-SIDI IGF Workshop Session title "Sovereignty and Interoperable Digital Identity in DLDCs". The session is scheduled for Wednesday, 25 June 2025, from 9:00 - 10:30 am Lillestrøm time (7:00 am (UTC) | 8:00 am Abuja | 9:00 am Joburg | 10:00 am Nairobi)

The 20th Annual Meeting of the IGF-Internet Governance Forum will be hosted by the Government of Norway in Lillestrøm from June 23 - 27, 2025. The theme of the meeting is "Building Digital Governance Together", which highlights the importance of collaboration and cooperation in shaping the future of the Internet. This event brings together governments, the private sector, civil society, academia, and technical communities to discuss key issues related to internet governance.

The IGF is a multistakeholder platform that provides a unique opportunity for diverse stakeholders to engage in open and inclusive discussions on Internet governance issues. The meeting will cover a range of topics, including digital cooperation, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital access, and human rights. Participants will have the chance to share their perspectives, learn from each other, and contribute to the development of global Internet governance policies.

AfICTA - SIDI Workshop Proposal link: https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/igf-2025-ws-290-sovereignty-and-interoperable-digital-identity-in-dldcs 

Bookmark the Session https://intgovforum.org/en/content/igf-2025-schedule